Cleveland Guardians pitcher Luis Ortiz is the subject of a Major League Baseball gambling investigation and was placed on non-disciplinary leave Thursday, two people with knowledge of the investigation told The Associated Press.The people spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the nature of the investigation.The investigation is related to in-game prop bets on two pitches thrown by Ortiz that received higher activity than usual during his starts at Seattle on June 15 and his recent outing against St. Louis on June 27. The gambling activity on the pitches was flagged by a betting-integrity firm and forwarded to MLB.ESPN reported the firm IC360 recently also sent an alert to sportsbook operators regarding Ortiz.The Athletic was the first to report that Ortiz’s suspension was related to gambling.MLB said Ortiz’s paid leave is through the end of the All-Star break, when players return to their teams July 17 and games resume the following day. It can be extended if the investigation remains ongoing.Chris Antonetti, Cleveland’s president of baseball operations, said before Thursday night’s game at the Chicago Cubs that the team can continue to have contact with Ortiz, but he can’t enter any of the Guardians’ facilities. Ortiz returned to Cleveland on Wednesday night.Ortiz was slated to be the starting pitcher for Thursday night’s series finale. Instead, left-hander Joey Cantillo was recalled from Triple-A Columbus. Cantillo is 1-0 with one save and a 3.81 ERA in 21 appearances this season.“We learned very little last night, but knew we needed to get someone here today to start today’s game, and that really was our focus,” Antonetti said. “A lot has come out today, and that’s far more information than we h …
